Ahead of the premiere of his highly-anticipated gay rom-com Bros, Billy Eichner gave fans a little treat on Tuesday by reviving his popular Billy on the Street comedy game show, which aired for five seasons from 2011 to 2016 on Fuse, and later truTV. After the series ended, Eichner did the occasional one-off segment with Funny or Die, but even then, it’s been nearly three years since the 44-year-old filmed his last with Mariah Carey in December of 2019.
And once again, Eichner enlisted the help of Paul Rudd — who does not appear to have aged since last doing a Billy on the Street eight years ago — to scream at unwitting New Yorkers in an attempt to get them to see Bros in theaters next week.
“Hey guys it’s Billy, I’m back here on the street with famous and beloved straight man Paul Rudd, and we’re going to spread the word about my new movie, Bros,” Eichner says in the clip, before adding: “You ready, Paul? Let’s bro!”
Passersby that the pair encountered were decidedly more enthused to see Rudd than they were to hear about Bros, but with already a 94 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, we think the film will do just fine with or without Rudd’s help. Although, at least one guy was stoked enough about the movie that he even offered to let Rudd physically carry him to the theater.
About halfway though the clip, Eichner traded Rudd for “a pack of wild lesbians” to hype the movie — bringing back his meme-worthy catchphrase in the process.
Encountering two young men, Eichner and the lesbians were asked if they knew who the rapper Playboi Carti was, and then immediately called his bluff by asking him to name a song. “I can’t name a song, name a song by Barbara Streisand, b*tch,” Eichner fired back.
“Sir, are you going to see Bros?” Eichner asked one last guy at the end of the clip, who laughed him off and kept walking. “Oh god, well he was too gay even for Bros.”
Bros hits theaters on Sept. 30, and in the meantime you can party like it’s 2014 with the new Billy on the Street clip.